The Best Hardware of 2012 Was The PS Vita - Pity About The Ecosystem

forbes.com: The mobile ecosystem is awash with applications and games. Wherever you turn there are high quality applications available, many either free or at the 79p mark. Turn to the launch titles of the PS Vita, and you find titles like Uncharted Golden Abyss going for £45, Wipeout 2048 and Lumines at £35, and the ‘feeling like a tech demo’ Little Deviants for £18.
One game for the PS Vita, or over 55 games for your iPhone. That’s not a tough call to make.

Nearly leapt off my couch in excitement at the sight of a positive Vita article. Then I read "The problem with Sony’s next generation portable gaming console was not the hardware, it was everything else."

You speak the truth. If we're solely talking about other hardware and games, the Vita succeeds. But because we live in the real world beyond N4G, there are MANY other factors (as you mentioned) that affect the success of a product such as:

The robots on N4G can beat their chest like King Kong and scream as loud as Mel Gibson in Braveheart about how great the Vita is, but that doesn't change the fact that its currently struggling due to these other factors.

If you want more support for Vita, then you MUST care about sales. Period. The bigger Vita's install base, the more willing devs will be to support it.

To the vast majority, the smart phone and the 3DS poses a better value than the PS Vita.

People confuse value with just the price, but it is actually multiple factors (such as usefulness, features, perceived sexyness and so on) combined with the price.

Sorry PS Vita, drop the price *NOW* and get some more quality games out as soon as possible. Right now, it is cementing it's reputation as the PSP did as a dead end platform, but this time just worse. After all, it is the second time!

True its like some people prefer Quantity over quality which is absurd. And your disagrees prove that there are people who prefer games like angry birds over games like Uncharted Golden Abyss and Resident Evil Revelations.

Even though it's an island , all the country's are against it because of interests , that's why it's different , it's the most peaceful one in middle east , it have best protests , it have good reasons for every act they do , so if it win the rights to it's land it will spread to saudia / qatar / imarat ..etc , it's the reason that saudia have protests now so imagine if we put down the dictator , it will be huge ^^ , saudia brought their army to stop it and gave the dictator money to buy more weapons , that's how we know it's dangerous for them ..

This revolution showed the real faces of the governments and people who care about their wallets more then people , This is one of the huge protests last year : http://www.youtube.com/watc...

I knew it was the best. "Sony got the hardware spot-on and the PS Vita was perfect." This is Forbes , a highly respectable magazine. They know their sh*t when it comes to video games and technology. Suck it Ninty fanboys , Vita wins 2012 and will win 2013. All the haters can GTFO.

Not knocking the 3DS but why wasn't the title "The best hardware was the 3DS, Pity about the ecosystem". Or "One game for your 3DS, or 55 games for your iphone".

If these media journalist take off their fanboy glasses than they will realize that despite not having a system seller which the Vita currently does not have, the system has a lot of very high quality games.

I do not care how much an iphone game costs. Persona 4 Golden, Gravity Rush, LBP Vita are worth their price point. Heck i would pay $60 or more for Persona 4 alone. I would rather have 100+ hours of entertainment than 5 mins of an iphone game.

It's like having sex....would you rather enjoy yourself for hours or have a quicky that is a waste of time?

Why would they even talk about the piece of sh*t 3DS? They are not even on the same level. Thats like comparing a Corvette to a turd ROFL . Notice how the Wii U is not mentioned either? Playing the Vita is just like sex too.

I was just making a point that how the gaming media targets the Vita despite the very high quality software it does have & will have. To them it is all about sales & to me that is the 'easy' way out for reporting about the system.

As for Forbes comparing the Vita to the iphone is a joke & just proves the lazy ass gaming journalism that we currently have. A gamer like me can care less what is on the iphone cause i do not care about gaming on it.

"As for Forbes comparing the Vita to the iphone is a joke & just proves the lazy ass gaming journalism that we currently have. A gamer like me can care less what is on the iphone cause i do not care about gaming on it."

Thats the problem right there. The way you and I think is different from the way the majority of casuals think. To them, every portable gaming console is the same. I had a PSP for two years and my parents never stopped calling it a Gameboy.

The sad reality is that mobile games on smartphones DO take revenue away from products such as the 3DS/Vita. Most would rather pay $1 or $0 for a fun, yet shallow mobile game than $40 on a deep, rewarding, and immersive experience. If smartphone gaming didn't exist, you could bet ur ass the Vita would be doing better right now.

As a gamer, u SHOULD be caring. Companies shape they're future endeavors on current trends. If the mobile gaming craze continues, say bye to hardcore handheld consoles in the future due to a lack of a market for them.

Why? Because the 3ds has done well this year. The vita has not. And the story seems to be about the vitas current market struggle.(I would actually read it, but... I've seen dozens of these stories and discussions already. @_@

I did read the story. My point is if the article is about the Vita's market struggle why the heck mention the price of games for the system compared to the iphones?

That quote of "One game for your Vita, or 55 games for your iphone", what is the point of then? It is the price of the system not the price of the games that for the most part is holding the Vita back from public acceptance.

Even Nintendo misjudged the public when they first priced the 3DS. Credit to them for cutting the price of the 3DS cause they can afford to cause the 3DS we all know does not have the specs & hardware as the Vita.

So yeah the Vita is struggling for market acceptance. However we do not know what will occur if/when the price cut happens. If it still continues to struggle after such price cut than yes the Vita is a failure. But by any chance it sells as well as the 3DS after its price cut are we still gonna see these articles?

Just cause the Vita is struggling it makes it an easy target for these negative articles. It was the same for the PS3, the same with the Wii U & do you know what it is getting to be like a broken record & pretty much a copout for these journalist.

Is a very good piece of hardware. Slick, sleek and has a very clear crisp screen.

For what ever reason, its market performance is lacking, some may point to price, and I'm sure that can be a factor, but I think more damning is the way Vita was marketed as a PS3 in your hand, rather than a handheld portable gaming system.

It is a vicious cycle, because hardware isn't selling well and neither can software when the installed base is so low. Sony is going to have to be the ones to provide hardware pushing software as third parties don't seem to be taking to the system.